Digital Radiographs (X-Rays)

Digital X-Rays: ​​​Intraoral and Extraoral 

Digital radiographs (which is the actual name for the images we take using x-rays)  are taken with electronic sensors that are either placed intraorally (inside the mouth) or extraorally (outside the mouth).  At Feiler Dental Associates, we have been taking digital x-rays for over 25 years with continuous upgrades as technology has advanced. 

Advantages of Digital X-Rays:

• Reduces radiation by 50 to 90 percent
• Much faster (almost instantaneous) 
• Environmentally safe — no chemicals used and no need for waste disposal
  
• Provides more flexibility and patient comfort than film
  
• Better organization of patients’ x-ray records
• Easily transferable via email

2-Dimensional Imaging

Intraoral: Bite Wings and Periopical

Bite wings and periopical radiographs (x-rays) are small, 2 dimensional, precise intraoral views of the teeth and surrounding bones.

Extraoral: Panoramic Imaging

 Panoramic x-rays are 2 dimensional radiographs that provide  an overview of the whole upper and lower jaw, including all teeth, bones, sinuses and the temporo-mandibular joint (TMJ). They are especially helpful in seeing impacted wisdom teeth, evaluating TMJ and implants, and showing areas of the jaw that are not visible with intraoral x-rays. 

To the left, you can see our clinical manager, Mary, setting up one of our patients in our state of the art 2D/3D panoramic/CBCT unit.

 3-Dimensional Imaging (CBCT)

 3 dimensional imaging views are also taken extraorally (similar to panoramic). They are taken with a special type of cat scan machine called a cone beam CT (CBCT).

Benefits of 3D Imaging 

There are many pathologies that simply cannot be found in a conventional X-Ray. These pathologies can hide behind the tooth, making them invisible in a regular 2D x-ray, as it is unable to filter out the tooth structure itself. 3D imaging eliminates all these diagnostic difficulties. Once a conebeam image is taken, the structures of the tooth and the gums are able to be looked at from different angles and different planes, even the slightest signs of disease become very easy to see, and makes it very easy to fix. 3D imaging gives the equivalent of thousands of x-rays being taken all at once, making any of these images viewable at any time. The x-rays are so accurate, it is the closest you can come to having a physical, and up-to-date model of your mouth in your hand.This system is  beneficial for patients with a high gag reflex, or small mouths, who normally have difficulty taking conventional x-rays.